Tulsa Prosecutorâ€™s Prepare to use Dog D-N-A to Prove Case

Tulsa City prosecutors are stepping into new territory as they prepare to use DNA <br>samples from a dog to prove their criminal case. What started out as a simple <br>misdemeanor case has turned into

Tuesday, January 25th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa City prosecutors are stepping into new territory as they prepare to use DNA
samples from a dog to prove their criminal case. What started out as a simple
misdemeanor case has turned into a massive court battle over a black pit bull named
Trek, now being held at the city pound.

Neighbors say they saw Trek attack 72-year-old Wanda Cox. "I saw Mrs. Cox on the
ground with the dog on top of her, the other one was a few feet away, watching," said
Coxâ€™s neighbor Michael Gibbons. Another neighbor, Jack Elbel, believes the same dog
bit him several months before Cox was attacked. Margaret Diley says the same dog also bit her, but she couldn't identify the dog in court, so the case was dismissed. "This
could've all been avoided if they realized my husband and I saw the dogs," she said.

A judge ruled Trek was vicious and should be destroyed. However, the dogâ€™s owners
have appealed that decision to the State Supreme Court. They are still waiting for a
ruling on their appeal. The case involving the alleged attack on Wanda Cox is scheduled
on the April court docket.

Attorneys for Trekâ€™s owners say this is a case of mistaken identity. So this time, the city
prosecutor ordered DNA tests to prove the black pit bull is the one who mauled Cox.
Prosecutors plan to present the results showing that hairs and saliva on Cox's clothes
match Trekâ€™s. Defense attorneys plan to have their own DNA testing completed before
the trial begins.

Prosecutors believe this will be only the second time in the country that DNA from a dog has been used in a criminal case. The pit bullâ€™s owners say that because they have been
accused of having a vicious dog, they have been forced to sell their house at a loss and
they have also lost two businesses. This is why they say they are suing Gibbons and
another neighbor who identified their dog, Trek, as the dog who attacked Cox. The
attorneys for the dogâ€™s owners say if the DNA testing proves Trek was the dog who
attacked Cox, they will drop the libel suits against the neighbors.

Coxâ€™s injuries from the attack were severe. Doctors have reattached one of her ears and
she has had surgery to repair damage to her legs. She has also had surgery to repair her
left foot, which was almost completely torn off. Cox has already received a $300,000
settlement from the dogâ€™s ownersâ€™ insurance company. The dogâ€™s owners, Chris Ohman
and Vanessa Borja, face counts of harboring a vicious animal and allowing a dog to roam
at large.